Last month's edition

Early Childhood News, 31 July 2008

This is an edna newsletter, published monthly, featuring quality online resources for those working with children 0-8 years old.

Our theme - Olympics
Featuring edna categories and pages
Online projects
Government Education Portal update
Upcoming events, conferences and opportunities
Selected news and sites

Our theme - Olympics

For cross-curriculum resources on the Olympics, go to the Early Childhood Education Browse category 'Curriculum resources' page at http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/go/ece/cache/offonce/pid/235 and search for 'Olympics' in the category search box in the middle of the page.

edna ECE resources on Olympics
http://url.edna.edu.au/tf2H

edna ECE resource on Sports
http://url.edna.edu.au/zHDg

a.s.p.i.r.e. School Network
http://corporate.olympics.com.au/index.cfm?p=34
The a.s.p.i.r.e. school network is the Australian Olympic Committee's national education program for primary educators. It is a free, online, values based program that provides access to Olympic themed resources, a school recognition certificate, a newsletter and one Boxing Kangaroo (BK) Medallion, given to a student who demonstrates the a.s.p.i.r.e. values at school. Once registered and logged in, teachers can select 'Lower Primary' resources.

Read this 'Review of Lower Primary ASPIRE Lessons (kindergarten & grades 1-2)'
http://url.edna.edu.au/UQ7Y
This review is provided by Alice Springs School of the Air, and summarises the a.s.p.i.r.e. lessons under Gardiner's Multiple Intelligences.

edna ECE resources on China
http://url.edna.edu.au/QtsU

edna ECE resources with images of China
http://url.edna.edu.au/Xgnq

Use the Flickr Creative Commons site to find other images under the particular permissions that you require.
http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
Click on the 'See more' next to each licence type, and then search for 'China' or 'Olympic' or the term that you choose, to get a selection of images that you may use.

There is also an edna Schools theme page on the Olympics that you may browse for appropriate resources.
http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/go/schooled/school_theme_pages/pid/2401
The page has news feeds from the International Olympic Committee, and the Australian Olympic Committee.

Featuring edna categories and pages

New Indigenous Education page on edna
http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/go/indigenous
A new Indigenous Education page has been created on edna, with a link from the home page. The focus of the page is cross-sectoral, but users may still browse by sector if they wish.  It is a dynamically generated page, supplying  recently added resources in Indigenous policy, information and education resources, all available as RSS feeds. A news headline service on Indigenous education news has been added - this is also an RSS feed that may be added to an RSS reader so as to be continually updated on the latest news about Indigenous education.

However, to access early childhood cross-curriculum resources on an Indigenous theme, your best choice is still to go to the Early Childhood curriculum resources page and search for Aboriginal in the category search box in the middle of that page.
http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/go/ece/cache/offonce/pid/235
Early childhood teaching/learning resources on an Aboriginal theme: http://url.edna.edu.au/V9wg

Calendar dates to note:

For information about these and other dates see our Calendar for Australian Schools http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/go/schooled/schools_events

Online projects

New this month from Global Education

Languages Matter
http://www.ozprojects.edu.au/course/view.php?id=33
Links are provided to a range of language resources suitable for use on an interactive whiteboard - marked LP for lower primary, MP for middle primary etc.

The latest Global Education Newsletter is out now
http://www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/globaled/news

New this month from OzProjects

Beijing 2008 OzProject
http://www.ozprojects.edu.au/course/view.php?id=20
This project has activities for students from lower primary to upper secondary.  A couple of interesting forum discussions (What do the Olympic Games mean to you? and a discussion of human rights issues in China) have just begun.  The project contains a number of activities for use on an interactive whiteboard and links to latest Olympic news and resources.  Enrolment is fairly easy using the support materials "How to enroll" and "Creating your user profile" from the OzProjects home page at http://www.ozprojects.edu.au/ Contact Cecily Wright if you would like assistance: cwright@educationau.edu.au

Government Education Portal update

The Government Education Portal website is due to be decommissioned by the end of September. You will find the resources that you may have accessed through the Early Childhood Education section of the Education Portal are also available on edna via the Early Childhood Education browse topics at http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/go/ece/cache/offonce/pid/233

The Early Childhood news headlines are also available on edna at http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/go/ece/ece_news/ You can receive this news as an RSS feed to your own RSS reader by copying and pasting the RSS URL http://api.edna.edu.au/headline.rss?sector=ece&items=10 into any free RSS reader available on the Internet. There is information about RSS and how to use it - on edna at http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/go/resources/toolkit/rss_services

Upcoming events, conferences & opportunities

Tasmanian Early Years Foundation Funding Program now open
http://url.edna.edu.au/cYme
The Tasmanian Early Years Foundation's Funding Program aims to support initiatives that foster the crucial early years and therefore improve outcomes for children and families in Tasmania. The funding program offers up to $10,000 for one year (Tier 1), and grants of $10,000 and over for up to three years (Tier 2). To achieve the greatest outcomes, the Foundation is keen to support sustainable projects and encourages collaborative partnerships across the sector. TEYF, 16 July 2008.

Introducing Marte Meo: A one-day seminar with Maria Aarts, Sydney, 11 August 2008
http://www.cnet.ngo.net.au/content/view/35115/28/
The Marte Meo Developmental Support Programme, developed by Maria Aarts, is a practical model where participants learn very concrete information about supporting children's development in daily interactive moments (infancy to school age children) and for transferring this information to parents and other significant carers. Professionals who are familiar with the Circle of Security framework will be interested in Marte Meo because it helps to look at the procedure of being in relationship and at how to be a secure base or 'hands on' on the Circle of Security.

Reggio Emilia approach: The whole world smells, Adelaide, 23 August 2008
http://www.echo.asn.au/ECHO_STORE/term%203%202008%20flyer2.pdf
This professional development workshop, presented by the Early Childhood Organisation, is intended for educators of children 3-8 years. The topic is 'Learning when, curiosity, exploration and collaboration leads to in-depth meaning'. The keynote address is by Esme Capp, Deputy Principal of Wooranna Park Primary School in Victoria, on 'Reggio Emilia: a model for teaching and learning'.

education.au seminar - Mind over matter: How technology matters, Sydney, 26 August 2008
http://www.educationau.edu.au/jahia/Jahia/pid/646
Professor Martin Westwell, Director of the Flinders Centre for Science Education in the 21st Century will provide insight into how modern lifestyles and technologies are influencing the minds of the young and old. The seminar offers participants the option to register for a morning or afternoon session, or for the full day at a discounted price.

11th NZ Early Childhood Research Conference - call for papers closes 29 August 2008
http://www.childforum.com/symposium.asp
This is an invitation to submit a proposal to present your research at the next Early Childhood Research Conference, to be held in Wellington 22-23 January 2009. The purpose of the conference is to provide a helpful and stimulating forum for researchers to present, and for participants to learn about the latest research, research methodology, and theory in the early years of childhood (0-8yrs). If you are interested in contributing by way of a single paper presentation, group paper presentation, a poster display or workshop submit your proposal by completing the Call for Papers form and send to sarah@childforum.com

SDN Children's Services Conference 2008: From one stop shops to places of encounter: Rethinking early childhood services, Sydney, 12 September 2008
http://www.sdn.org.au/conference08/
Professor Moss' work challenges those working in early childhood services to rethink these services as 'places of encounter' where children and their families, early childhood professionals and others come together to share ideas and learn from one another. Delegates will have an opportunity to address the debate around key ideas of one stop shops, integrated services, inclusive practices, whole of government responses and re-alignment.

Jean Denton and Lillian de Lissa Scholarships 2008, closing date for applications, 3 October 2008
http://www.unisa.edu.au/resdegrees/scholarships/dentondelissa.asp
The purpose of the Jean Denton scholarship is to advance knowledge in early childhood education and is available for any citizen working in Australia. The Lillian de Lissa scholarships are for practitioners working in South Australia.


View other conferences and events listed with edna:
Early Childhood Events
http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/go/ece/ece_events
Search for events of interest using the Advanced keyword search at
http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/go/ece/ece_events/pid/1983

Selected news & sites

Aussie kids walk to Beijing to get fit
http://www.ausport.gov.au/media/releases/aussie_kids_walk_to_beijing_to_get_fit
Olympic fever has hit the nation with more than 100,000 kids throughout Australia starting to jump, run, hop and skip all the way to Beijing. To celebrate the Beijing 2008 Olympics and Paralympics, kids from the Australian Sports Commission's Active After-school Communities (AASC) program have donned pedometers and will record their jumps, skips, hops and steps during a theoretical 'journey' to Beijing, China. Australian Sports Commission, 29 July 2008.

Report backs directions on early childhood in SA
http://www.premier.sa.gov.au/news.php?id=3476
Inspirational ideas from one of the world's leading experts on early childhood development, Dr Fraser Mustard, will help South Australia to build on its reputation as a 'family friendly' State. The State Government would adopt most of Dr Mustard's ideas from his time as a Thinker in Residence in South Australia. Early investment in a child's life can help to set them on the right path in terms of their behaviour, learning and health well into the future. Premier of SA, 23 July 2008.

Specialised playgroups for 2400 Indigenous children
http://url.edna.edu.au/t5JC
During NAIDOC week, the Australian Government announced the locations for 20 specialised playgroups to be established in 20 regional and remote Indigenous communities across Australia delivering a range of activities to around 2400 children, as part of a $5 million package. This includes $2 million for four mobile playgroups to support isolated and disadvantaged families. They will be run out of Halls Creek in Western Australia, Kowanyama in Queensland, Newcastle in New South Wales and Murray Bridge in South Australia. FaHCSIA, 9 July 2008.

COAG agenda on early childhood
http://www.coag.gov.au/meetings/030708/index.htm#productivity
COAG welcomed the significant progress of the Productivity Agenda Working Group in developing Statements of Objectives, Outcomes, Outputs and Performance Measures in the key areas of early childhood development, schooling and skills and workforce development. COAG considered preliminary work on important reforms that will focus on giving children the best possible start in life and on delivering early childhood services such as health, care, education and family support. COAG agreed to the development of a broad national strategy for early childhood development for consideration in October 2008. COAG, 3 July 2008.

Australian sites

Adelaide Thinkers in Residence: Fraser Mustard - Final report available
http://www.thinkers.sa.gov.au/fmustard.html
Dr Fraser Mustard is an internationally recognised expert in the field of early childhood development and has led the growth of interest in this critical area. Dr Mustard lived and worked in South Australia as an Adelaide Thinker in Residence during 2006 and 2007. His final report 'Investing in the Early Years: Closing the gap between what we know and what we do' as well as a detailed companion document, 'Early Childhood Development: The best start for all South Australians' are available to download.

Computer use by preschool children: Rethinking practice as digital natives come to preschool
http://url.edna.edu.au/YVBG
This paper reports on the outcomes of a survey implemented in a large regional community of Australia. The survey was completed by parents of children aged four-five years and attending local early childhood centres. The survey identified the types of access and use of computers by preschool children. It was found that the children of the respondents had significant access to computers in the home and were skilled in many facets of computer use. Computers were used for a range of activities, some educational and others recreational. Gender differences in computer use were also noted. The study highlights the changing clientele of early childhood settings and the implications for practice in a field where computer technology is often seen as the antithesis of good practice.

Through the Looking Glass
http://www.throughthelookingglass.org.au/
The Through the Looking Glass (TtLG) Project is a health, education and welfare collaborative early intervention strategy that utilizes the existing infrastructure and universality of five child care settings across Australia to intervene with families where there is an identified compromised attachment relationship between the parent and child/children. The Project is designed to achieve specific outcomes for parents, children and child care staff. The TtLG project is based on Attachment Theory. The intervention draws from the 'Circle of Security' (COS) project model and assists parents and child care staff to understand and integrate attachment theory into practice.

Issue Analysis: Child care and the labour supply
http://www.cis.org.au/issue_analysis/IA97/ia97.pdf
Child care is said to increase female labour-force participation and therefore economic growth. This paper seeks to verify the claims about child care and female labour supply. It includes four major findings: child care usage has grown markedly; the cost of child care has risen at a greater rate than inflation; each new injection of government funding has been followed by an escalation in the cost of child care; there is only a weak relationship between the cost of child care and female labour supply.

International sites

Flickr: Creative Commons
http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
Flickr is a free online photo management and sharing application. Many Flickr users have chosen to offer their work under a Creative Commons license as an alternative to full copyright. The website provides explanations of the different types of licence. You can browse or search through content under each type of license, and find images that you may use in various ways. Teachers may find images they can use to support a theme.

Linking economic development and child care
http://government.cce.cornell.edu/doc/reports/childcare/
The Linking Economic Development and Child Care Research Project, in the United States, aims to better identify the economic linkages of child care from a regional economy perspective. The site provides a quantitative database of economic demographic and policy data for all 50 states and a qualitative database of all state and local studies (completed and in-progress). The site also includes research reports, copies of state studies, advice on economic analysis, and profiles of new approaches to child care policy.

To see the most recent additions to Early Childhood resources go to
http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/go/ece/pid/13

To assist in your planning for 2008 see: